Indonesia beats Malaysia 6-0, crowns Group B

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's soccer team tops the Group B standings after the national team overwhelmed Malaysia 6-0 at the Track and Field Stadium in the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei on Monday.

With the result, Indonesia has collected seven goal points from two matches, while second-place Singapore has two goals after its first match. Indonesia beat Cambodia 1-0 in the first match on Saturday, while Singapore won 2-1 against Malaysia.

In another Group B match on Monday, Brunei tied 3-3 with Cambodia.

A free kick from midfielder Haryanto Prasetyo in the fifth minute opened the scoring in Monday's game. Three minutes later, Haryanto passed the ball to striker Rocky Puttiray, who quickly headed it into the net for Indonesia's second goal.

In the second half, Indonesian coach Bernhard Schumm replaced midfielder Aji Santoso, who injured his right hand, with Anang Ma'ruf. Schumm also substituted Uston Nawawi for Haryanto, who was injured in a clash with a Malaysian player.

Indonesia increased its offensive intensity in the second half against Malaysia, which was forced to send players forward in an attempt to get back in the match. Unfortunately for Malaysia, this opened its defense up to the Indonesian strikers.

The youngest member of the Indonesian team, Bambang Pamungkas, scored the third and fourth goals for Indonesia in the 49th and the 57th minutes, thanks to beautiful feeds from Anang.

Veteran player Ali Sunan netted Indonesia's fifth goal in the 81st minute and Rocky capped off the Indonesian triumph with a goal one minute later.

All-Indonesian Soccer Federation (PSSI) chairman Agum Gumelar said he was satisfied with the team's performance and reiterated his optimism that Indonesia could win the gold.

"I am very satisfied. The team had more confidence than in their game against Cambodia," said the three-star general, who watched Monday's match at the stadium.

Agum was quoted by Antara as saying the Indonesian soccer team should not lose its concentration and remain focused on its matches against Singapore on Aug. 6 and host Brunei on Aug. 9.

Denial

Separately, national striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto -- who was dropped from the SEA Games team after testing positive for amphetamines -- denied reports he used psychotropic substances to stimulate his performance on the soccer field.

Kurniawan, who failed three drug tests conducted by the National Sports Council (KONI) and the Jakarta Doping Laboratory, claimed he had stopped using drugs and was now pursuing a career as a professional player.

"I have stopped using drugs. I used to consume drugs, but I think that's common for young people. I feel I am clean now, but people are beginning to talk about my past and it stopped me from competing in Brunei," he said.

He asked the public to continue supporting him and his soccer career.

"With all of my heart, I frankly declare that I still need everybody's support. I will return to the soccer field, compete, score goals and win. I will never stop because soccer is my world," he said.

The drug tests have sparked controversy. Kurniawan's lawyer Gandjar L.B. Bondan regretted KONI's decision to drop Kurniawan from the SEA Games squad, saying it would harm the 23-year-old player psychologically.

"KONI did not take into account the last doping test (on July 29) which could have been used to enable him to join the SEA Games team. Besides, Kurniawan was never asked to discuss the results or given a chance to discuss the matter with KONI," he said.

In a written statement, Kurniawan said he had consumed traditional herbal medicines to treat muscle pain and a medicine called Becomzet before the drug tests.

KONI's chief of the sports science commission, Dr. Carmen Jahja, said someone physically manipulated Kurniawan's urine sample from his last test in July 29.

"His urine was very clear, like water. He either drank a lot in the last 24 hours or someone replaced his urine sample," she said on Monday.

She suggested Kurniawan undergo rehabilitation for his drug addiction. "Let's stop the controversy. It's much more important to help him get over his addiction." (ivy)